The Drabbles Job
by Trapper Creek Kaniac
Summary: A collection of random, short Leverage drabbles written mostly for Leverageland. Various parings. NEW CHAPTER: The Happily Ever After Job; the team receives something in the mail...
1. The Julienne Job

**Title: **The Julienne Job  
><strong>Author: <strong>Trapper Creek Kaniac  
><strong>Fandom:<strong> Leverage  
><strong>Category: <strong>Humor, friendship  
><strong>Rating: <strong>K  
><strong>Warning(s): <strong>none

**Summary: **Parker surprises Eliot in the kitchen**.**

**Author's Note:** Leverageland cheer leading gift; written for** Ultrawoman.****  
><strong>

* * *

><p>"What are you doing?"<p>

Eliot jumped at the sound of Parker's voice. She never snuck up on him, well, except for that time during job where he was the fiddle. No mater how feather-light her footsteps were, he always heard her.

"Trying to slice this steak."

A large, raw steak was laid out on the cutting board and Parker watched as Eliot drew the extremely sharp knife in even strokes against the grain, making super thin slices.

"Can I help?" She asked as she reached up and pulled a cereal box out of the cupboard and poured herself a bowl.

"No."

"Can I watch?"

"I guess."

"Cool!" Parker hopped up on the end of the counter to watch the hitter work. She liked to watch him work with food.

"Stop starin' at me." Eliot growled several slices later.

Parker spooned another mouthful of cereal into her mouth. "Am not."

"Are to."

"Am not."

Nate walked in just then, interrupting their bickering. "What are you two arguing about now?"

"She was staring at me." Eliot pointed his knife at the grinning thief.

"Was not."

Eliot glared at her.

"It's a very distinctive stare. I can't work properly when someone is staring at me."

"Seriously?"


	2. The Gummy Frog Job

**Title:** The Gummy Frog Job  
><strong>Author: <strong>Trapper Creek Kaniac  
><strong>Fandom:<strong> Leverage  
><strong>Category: <strong>Humor/friendship  
><strong>Pairing:<strong> Eliot and Hardison  
><strong>Rating:<strong> PG  
><strong>Warning(s):<strong> none

**Summary: **Hardison should never leave his gummy frogs unattended.

**Author's Note:** Written as a Leverageland cheerleading gift for Scout_Lover.

* * *

><p>Eliot was the only one at Nate's apartment. Sophie had taken Parker shopping; Nate was also gone, and for once, Hardison wasn't glued to his seat behind one of his many important laptops.<p>

Real live peace and quiet. Eliot took full advantage of the situation, lounging on the couch with his feet up and a cold beer in hand. He took the remote and flipped the TV on to a football game from one of Nate's seven hundred available sports channels.

Hardison had left an open bag of his beloved gummy frogs nearby, and for some reason Eliot could practically feel them staring at him.

"Come on, man." Eliot growled at the TV when one of the players made dumb mistake.

The frogs were staring at him again. He glared at them for good measure. It didn't work. Damn it, those things never had an affect on him before.

Despite the fact that he was completely alone, Eliot surreptitiously glanced around to make sure no one was watching before reaching into the bag and pulling out a green and white frog-shaped squishy lump of sugar. He studied it and then bit it in half. Absolutely pure sugar, but not that bad.

Hmm. Well, what the hell...

Eliot finished the frog and reached for another one as the leading team scored a touchdown. The afternoon wore on and the score fluctuated, making for a close game.

Eliot reached for another gummy frog.

Wait, what? The bag was three quarters empty?

Oops.

Before he could get up and replace the almost empty bag with another one, the door opened and Hardison entered.

"Hey, man." He greeted Eliot.

"Hey."

Eliot heard Hardison go into the kitchen for something and then he came over to grab his laptop the gummy frogs.

Hardison frowned. He was almost sure that the bag had been practically full when he left... He glanced between the bag and Eliot, whose eyes were glued on the game.

"You ATE my gummy frogs!"

"You just left them lying there..." Eliot shrugged.

"Seriously? Seriously!"

"What's the big deal, man? You got a whole drawer full of 'em."

"YOU ate gummy frogs. You hate gummy frogs."

"You know, they're actually pretty good."

"This isn't over, man. I can't believe you want let that damn sandwich thing go."

"Who said it's about the sandwich? Can't a man enjoy some gummy frogs?"

"Says someone who hates gummy frogs." Hardison glared.

"Whatever, man."


	3. The 44 Ounces Job

**Title:** The Gummy Frog Job  
><strong>Author: <strong>Trapper Creek Kaniac  
><strong>Fandom:<strong> Leverage  
><strong>Category: <strong>Humor/friendship  
><strong>Pairing:<strong> Eliot and Hardison  
><strong>Rating:<strong> PG  
><strong>Warning(s):<strong> none

**Summary: **Hardison may have spilled Slushie in Eliot's truck. Again.

**Author's Note:** Leverageland St. Patrick's Day Gift Exchange gift for **2cbetter2.**

* * *

><p>"No!" Eliot was saying to Hardison. "No, no, no." They were on recon duty together, watching the bar where one of the mark's associates was currently in. Hardison had gotten bored and went and bought a Shushie. Hardison had just returned and was trying get back in Eliot's pickup but the hitter wouldn't let him in.<p>

"Come on, man." Hardison whined.

Eliot glared at him. "You're not getting in here with that thing."

"Seriously? Let me in!"

"No. It's either you or the Slushie."

Eliot fixed his gaze on the bar's entrance and Hardison was silent for almost half a minute.

"Come on, Eliot. _Please_."

Hardison actually said please. Eliot scowled at him for good measure before finally giving in. He unlocked the door and Hardison climbed into the passenger seat.

"Now, I'm warning you, if you so much as spill a drop of that in here again, I'm gonna..."

"Yeah, sure." Hardison nodded.

"Hardison, I swear – you need your fingers to type, right?" It was an empty threat and they both knew it.

The next half hour passed uneventfully.

Eliot adjusted the pair of binoculars he was using and Hardison shifted in his seat, trying to find a more comfortable position. Something tipped over.

"Hardison, what was that?"

"Uh, nothing?"

Eliot tore his gaze away from the binoculars and glanced at Hardison's feet. Blue liquid everywhere, spilling from a tipped over cup. At least the lid wasn't floating in it this time. Not that this was much of an improvement.

"DAMN IT, HARDISON!"

Hardison shrunk into his seat. "I'm sorry."

"I _knew_ this was going to happen!" Eliot growled through clenched teeth. "You are not allowed near my truck with any kind of drink ever again."

"I said I was sorry."

Eliot roasted him with a glare.

"Wait, isn't that our guy?"

"Hardison..." Eliot's voice was warning.

"No – coming out of the bar. That's our guy!"

Eliot finally looked and saw that it was indeed the guy they were watching. Hardison swallowed the lump in his throat. He hadn't meant to spill the Shushie...again... it'd just happened by accident.

"Alright, let's go after him." Eliot relaxed slightly. "But don't think you aren't going to be cleaning this up when we get back."


	4. The Bingo Jobs

**Title:** The Bingo Jobs  
><strong>Author: <strong>Trapper Creek Kaniac  
><strong>Fandom:<strong> Leverage  
><strong>Category: <strong>Humor/friendship  
><strong>Pairing:<strong>  
><strong>Rating:<strong> PG  
><strong>Warning(s):<strong> none

**Summary: ** A series of short drabbles written for Leverageland's bingo challenge.

**Author's Note:** Not a gift fic this time, but enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>Title:<strong> Welcoming Sleep  
><strong>Word Count:<strong> 168

The team was just coming off a brutal job and Eliot was exhausted. He was tired and nearly everything hurt. He craved sleep. Fuck the ghosts that sometimes still haunted his dreams, he wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for a hundred years.

Nate was finishing up with the client and Sophie offered to drive him home but the hitter had shrugged her off, grunting that he was fine. As he climbed out of his Challenger and looked at flight of stairs before him, he almost wished he hadn't been so quick to dismiss the grifter's offer.

The stairs were hell but finally Eliot reached the comfort of his apartment. He dropped his keys and shrugged off his jacket. His ribs protested as he bent to remove his shoes; they'd need to be wrapped but that could wait until later. He was too tired to remove the rest of his clothes and simply climbed into bed.

He was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

* * *

><p><strong>Title:<strong> Plans  
><strong>Summary:<strong> Parker tries to convince Eliot to come along with her to a chocolate festival.  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>123

"_Please_, Eliot?" Parker asked again and put on her best begging face as she flopped down next to him on Nate's couch.

"No." was the hitter's firm answer.

"Why not?"

"Because, I said I have plans."

Parker frowned, obviously not believing him. "Like what?"

"_Plans_." This was Parker after all, and he didn't feel like explaining why he didn't want to get drug along to some chocolate festival and have to deal with the already bouncy thief on a sugar high.

There was a long pause as Parker thought over his answer. Then...

"So, is she hot?"

Eliot gritted his teeth in annoyance. "Damn it, Parker! You don't just..." He looked at her and she seemed genuinely interested. He sighed. "Yeah, she's hot."

* * *

><p><strong>Title: <strong>Anti-thief Dust  
><strong>Summary:<strong> Parker is in the middle of stealing a painting when she suddenly can't stop sneezing. (set between the First and Second David jobs)  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>221

Parker tried every trick she knew to stifle the sneeze that was making her nose tingle. She was in a museum air duct with a small, and very valuable painting. She'd snatched it as soon as the guard watching it had turned away. Now was not the time to sneeze.

_Achoo._

Parker buried her nose in the crook of her arm but that still didn't prevent a squeak that sounded incredibly loud in the small space from escaping. She cringed as she imagined the security guard turning and noticing the empty spot on the wall and the missing Rembrandt. She wished Eliot was there to take the guard out with one of his powerful punches, or Hardison to set off the fire alarms, or even Sophie to pretend to twist her ankle and provide a distraction.

No time for that now, she was on her own. Parker grabbed the painting and began crawling back the way she'd came. She hadn't gotten very far when she felt the beginning of another sneeze tickling her nose.

"Seriously?" She whispered furiously to herself. Had someone dusted the air ducts with some kind of special anti-thief power?

Several sneezes later Parker was finally free of the air duct and disappearing into the calm night air, leaving a group of frenzied security guards in her wake.

* * *

><p><strong>Title: <strong>Weighted Words  
><strong>Summary:<strong> The Boston Herald reviews Sophie's latest theater role.  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>206

"How bad is it?" Nate asked, looking at the solemn, almost grim, faces of Eliot and Hardison as he poured himself another cup of coffee. He was very tempted to add a splash of Irish whiskey, he had a feeling he was going to need it.

Eliot was hardly ever one to mince words. "Bad."

"Very bad." Hardison agreed.

Nate nodded.

"Look, Nate," Hardison continued. "We can't hide it forever, she's going to see them sooner or later..."

The agonized shriek from the other room was answer enough. Sophie had managed to get a hold of the reviews for her performance in the latest play she had gotten a part in.

The three of them exchanged glances as the sound of high heels on wood echoed through the apartment. Hardison and Eliot mumbled an excuse and headed for the door, bumping into each other in their rush to be out of sight when Sophie reached the kitchen.

"Nate, did you see these?" Sophie was waving around a paper. More specifically, the entertainment section.

Nate made a noncommittal noise, carefully sipping his coffee.

"They said I was awful! That-"

"I-I thought you made a great Evil Queen."

Sophie cocked her head, her features softening slightly. "Really?"

"Really."

* * *

><p><strong>Title:<strong> Happiness  
><strong>Summary:<strong> A lot of things make Eliot happy, sometimes even the team.  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>226

A lot of things made Eliot happy. Music; a quiet day spent relaxing with cold beer and a worm in the water - Hardison's stupid video game didn't even come close; cooking; even the team. Mention that fact to any of them, and your body will never, ever be found, Eliot would make sure of that.

Cooking relaxed him. Cooking for the team was also his way of showing his appreciation for the them without having to come out and admit it. Also, Hardison's eating habits were absolutely atrocious. The things the hacker ate on a daily basis could hardly be considered food. Eliot had given up trying to convince Parker that cereal wasn't food but he drew the line at gummy frogs.

Eliot felt the day's tension slipping from his muscles as he dropped the julienned peppers into the hot pan with the melted butter and browned garlic. He breathed in the delicious smell with a contented sigh and took a long sip from his cold beer.

_This is home_, Eliot thought as he watched Sophie talking to Nate, swirling her glass of red wine, and the mastermind smiled in response. His eyes drifted across the room to where Parker was pretending to be interested in whatever Hardison was saying about one of his games with the elves and gnomes-or whatever those things were called.

* * *

><p><strong>Title: <strong>Tangled Lines  
><strong>Summary: <strong>Hardison hates rappelling.  
><strong>Word Count:<strong>144

"Wwwhhhhoooooaaaaaaaaaaaa."

Hardison went flying through the air, the street reaching up to meet him at an alarming rate.

Alec Hardison was not clumsy by nature but when it came to rappelling he was always a tangle of arms and legs. He was perfectly happy to sit behind his computer all day instead of jumping, or in his case, being pushed off of very tall buildings, thank you very much.

And yet, somehow Parker had managed to talk – or was it trick? – him into testing one of her newly designed rigs. Hardison clung to the side of the building, willing himself not to look down. He didn't need to see Eliot to know that he was standing on the rooftop, laughing. He was glad that this wasn't a job, where they'd be wearing their earbuds and the hitter's laughter would be echoing in his ear.

* * *

><p><strong>Title: <strong>Stealing the Rose Festival  
><strong>Word Count:<strong>130

"We should go to the Rose Festival!" Parker announced one day out of the blue when the team had a day off.

"What?" Nate, Sophie, Eliot, and Hardison all turned to look at the thief.

"The Rose Festival." Parker repeated. "When we were here for that gold job we didn't get to stay and explore the city. It's a tradition... they have parades and candy and all kinds of cool stuff. Wouldn't it be fun?"

Nate and Sophie exchanged glances.

"That does sound kind of fun, I have been wanting to explore Portland." Sophie said. Hardison said he thought it would be fun, and Eliot perked up a little bit when Parker mentioned the rodeo princesses. It was settled then; they were going to go steal themselves a Rose Festival.


	5. The Very Distinctive Hacker Job

**Title: **The Very Distinctive Hacker Job**  
>Author: <strong>Trapper Creek Kaniac  
><strong>Fandom:<strong> Leverage

**Summary: **Eliot's often does little things for the team, and when he runs into a certain hacker, he can't help himself.

**Author's Note:** Written as Leverageland cheerleading gift for **spnfreak15**.

* * *

><p>Wait a minute, he knew that I-run-the-world swagger. It was a very distinctive swagger. Eliot paused on the sidewalk and focused on the individual that had caught his attention. The man was walking down the sidewalk with his back to him, a laptop bag slung over his shoulder and a large bottle of the cherry-flavored version of that awful stuff Hardison was drinking tucked under his left arm.<p>

Chaos. Eliot swallowed a growl of annoyance. _What the fuck was he doing out of prison so soon?_

He continued to stare at Chaos until he disappeared around a corner. Colin "Chaos" Mason, a hacker that the team had a couple of run-ins with in the past. More importantly, Chaos was the guy that killed his friend's van. Nobody messed with his friends and walked away unscathed.

An idea struck him and he turned and walked in the opposite direction, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He knew a couple guys that owed him a favor and he figured it was about time to cash them in.

"Checked baggage for Colin Mason."

Eliot kept his head down as he pushed the crate over to the security desk. Nobody would look twice at him dressed in an airport uniform and baseball cap pulled down over his face. _Jake_ would be well compensated for his silence about his time spent stuffed in a locker.

According to one of the guys who owed him a favor, Chaos had a flight booked to Rome that was leaving in about fifteen minutes. Which fit perfectly with his plans.

"Sir, we have a couple routine questions about your checked baggage." The guard in charge of checking baggage said as Chaos arrived right on schedule.

"Whatever." Chaos held his arms out for the guard. "My flight leaves in like... wait, I, I don't have any checked luggage."

The guard pointed to the crate. "Isn't that your name on the slip?"

"Yes, but..." Eliot hid a smirk as a look of horror crossed Chaos's face when he realized what was happening. "No, no, no, not again!"

The guard gave him an odd look and motioned for Eliot to open the crate.

Eliot pried the lid off and revealed five identical forged paintings, courtesy of another guy he knew. There was a note stuck on one of the paintings with _payback's a bitch _written across it.

"Sir, I need you to step over here, please." The guard escorted Chaos out of the line and then spoke into his shoulder radio. "Security, we have a 1011 at Gate 32."

Eliot watched, pretending to be surprised by the turn of events. Chaos noticed him and started to protest.

"Wait! This is all a mistake, I'm being set up! That guy," Chaos gestured wildly at Eliot. "He set me up! He doesn't even work here, he's a-"

"Sir, I need you to please calm down," the guard said patiently but Chaos wasn't listening.

"The paintings, they're forgeries, he's trying to get me thrown in jail agai-" Three security guards arrived and restrained Chaos, one pulling out a pair of cuffs and cuffing the hacker.

As soon as they drug the hacker away, and out of sight, Eliot made his exit. He changed out of the uniform, and returned it to its owner with a few threatening growls to keep him in line, and walked out the front door satisfied that Hardison would never find about Chaos's having another little "incident" with airport security. The team hardly ever noticed all the little things he did for them and he was okay with that.


	6. The Let's Go Steal a High School Job

**Title: **The Let's Go Steal a High school Job**  
>Author: <strong>Trapper Creek Kaniac  
><strong>Fandom:<strong> Leverage

**Summary: **After the team steals a high school reunion, Parker is still curious about high school and turns to Eliot.

**Author's Note:** Written for a challenge over at Leverageland. Set immediately after The Reunion Job; inspired by a couple of scenes between Eliot and Parker in the Long Way Down and French Connection jobs and based on several Kane songs (bonus points if you can guess which three!). Special thanks to Telaryn for betaing.

* * *

><p>Parker was helping Hardison clean up some of the stuff left over from taking down Duberman. The corner of a navy blue book sticking out from under Duberman's yearbook caught her attention.<p>

"What's this?" she asked, pulling it out of the stack.

Hardison looked up. "You'll never guess," he said, a devilish look crossing his face.

"Looks like a yearbook... but it says senior year, 1994."

"Exactly," Hardison answered.

Parker was still confused.

"So whose-"

"Just look at page fifteen," Hardison said, coming over to her. "In the third row."

Parker quickly opened the yearbook and flipped the right page. The trademark smirk and piercing eyes that stared back at her were familiar and instantly recognizable.

"Is that...?

* * *

><p><strong><strong>L*E*V*E*R*A*G*E<br>**L*E*V*E*R*A*G*E**  
><strong>**

* * *

><p>The sound of laughter drew Eliot's attention as he entered Nate's apartment. He followed the sound to its source and found Parker and Hardison sitting on the couch, hunched over something on the coffee table. They didn't appear to have heard him approach.<p>

"What are you doing?"

Still giggling, Parker and Hardison both startled at the sound of his voice.

"Nothing!" Hardison frantically tried to hide whatever it was they were looking at.

"Hardison found your yearbook when he was looking for Duberman's," Parker supplied helpfully.

Found his...? Eliot closed his eyes in an attempt to push down the annoyance that was bordering on anger. Sometimes Hardison didn't know how close he came to wanting make good on the threat to break his damn fingers.

"Wh-How did... Dammit, Hardison!" he growled and turned on his heel and headed for the door, but not before snatching a beer on his way out.

"But Eliot, I liked your mullet, it looked really soft!" he heard Parker call after him just before the door slammed.

* * *

><p><strong><strong>L*E*V*E*R*A*G*E<br>**L*E*V*E*R*A*G*E**  
><strong>**

* * *

><p>Later, Eliot was sitting on the roof of Nate's apartment with a cold beer, watching the sunset and letting his mind unwind like he always did after a job. He'd been up there almost half an hour when he sensed Parker's presence behind him.<p>

He knew that the little thief sometimes came up to the roof to think. He didn't blame her, it was a nice spot to sort out thoughts. He didn't acknowledge her because her because he knew better than to press her when she had something on her mind; she'd speak when she was ready.

The seconds ticked by and he took another pull from his beer.

"Eliot," she said finally, coming to sit in one of the cushioned deck chairs near him, "did you like high school?"

"Yeah...yeah, I did," he chucked, smiling a little as his mind flew back to his hometown.

_Racing the 12:27 on a dare. Stealing kisses on Pawnee Bridge. Scoring a winning touchdown. Homecoming. Taking HomeEc so Alexa would have to lean over his shoulder. Those parties every Saturday night down by the river that lasted way past the moon coming up, where every pickup had the speakers blasting Waylon Jennings and Hank Jr., tailgates down and long-legged cheerleaders dancing in the back of the bed._

All the hell he'd raised with his friends... they never did get arrested, but man, the stories they could tell.

His smile faded a little as his mind settled on the image of that innocent kid having the time of his life and not knowing what the future held in store for him. It seemed like a lifetime ago. Sometimes he envied that youthful innocence, that trust that the world was a good place-

"What was it like?" Parker's question drew him out of his thoughts and saved him from wallowing further.

"It's... It's hard to explain, Parker, it's just kind of one of those things where you have to be there."

His answer seemed to satisfy her for the moment. Eliot took another mouthful of the bitter liquid and watched Parker mull over what he'd just said.

"Did you have any favorite teachers?"

Favorite teacher? He hadn't really put much though into how different his upbringing was from hers, and how she was genuinely interested in some of the little things that he took for granted. Though, now that he did think about it, this job sort of drew attention to the fact that she was different.

"Yeah, Mr. Southard, and my junior year Social Studies teacher, Mrs. Amend." He could still see her brushing back pieces of hair that were perpetually escaping from her braid, and talking about the latest trinkets she'd brought from her travels to the region that the class was currently studying.

"Would I have fit in?" Parker's voice was quieter, almost timid.

And there it was, what she had wanted to ask him.

Eliot let a brief silence fall between them while he thought. He almost laughed as he pictured a teenaged Parker in high school. She'd probably be pickpocketing everybody and cracking their locker combinations out of curiosity. "No," he answered finally, "but fitting in isn't always everything."

"It's not? But Sophie's always saying-"

"That's different." Eliot drank a little more from his beer. "Everybody spends their time trying to be like the cool, popular kids, and then as soon as they're out of school, the world's pushin' them to be different. You already got a head start. Being different is what makes us... _us_. Whether you decide to take that as a blessing or a curse, well, that's up to you."

"Thanks, Eliot. You and Hardison and Nate and Sophie all went to high school like normal people, but I was learning how to be a thief."

"And look at us now," he winked at her, "we're all thieves."

Parker smiled. "For what it's worth, I liked your hair in the picture, but it's much prettier now."

Typical Parker. "Thanks... I guess?" He was still going to threaten bodily harm if Hardison ever tried to pull another stunt like that again.

"Eliot?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we go steal a high school? Or, maybe borrow it, and not like a reunion, 'cause we just did that, but one right now, so I could see what it's like?"

Eliot almost choked on his beer. Was she serious? He darted a glance at her.

She was serious.

_Jesus_.

"Wha-No! Parker, are you kidding me?"

"Come on, Eliot, please?"

"No!"

"Eliot, _please_?" she pleaded, her tone wheedling.

He looked at Parker again and saw that her face was earnest and her eyes soft and pleading. Damn it, Sophie had been teaching her stuff again.

Well...


	7. A Familiar Face

**Title: **A Familiar Face**  
>Author: <strong>Trapper Creek Kaniac  
><strong>Fandom:<strong> Leverage  
><strong>Prompt:<strong> Doctor  
><strong>Word Count:<strong> ~560

**Summary: **Maggie wasn't the only familiar face at the party that night. Missing scene from the First David Job.**  
><strong>

**Author's Note: **Written for a Leverageland challenge a while back.

* * *

><p>He knew that voice.<p>

Wes Abernathy – Doctor Wes Abernathy – reached out and took a flute of champagne from a passing tray at a large museum party in Los Angeles. The museum was holding the party in honor of dedicating their brand new wing to insurance CEO Ian Blackpoole.

He was raising the glass to his lips when he happened to overhear a familiar voice talking in soft tones. He wracked his mind trying to place it. Where had he heard that voice before?

Doctor Abernathy downed the rest of the champagne in a single gulp and turned toward the direction the mysterious voice was coming from. His eyes landed on a man with his back to him. The man was wearing a suit like the rest of the male guests and had long dark hair that was pulled back in a neat, low ponytail, and he was talking to an older woman in a pale gold dress, with blond hair She laughed in response to something he said and touched his arm.

Doctor Abernathy steeled himself to approach the mysterious man. He was a bit of a nervous, geeky guy by nature but ever since the incident three years ago, parties and large gatherings made him feel on edge. Three years ago he had been in Boston and was invited to the final night of an exhibit at the Antiquities Museum. When he had arrived that night, some man had climbed into the backseat of his car and demanded his clothes and invitation. The man even took his glasses. In return for his compliance, he'd been stuffed in the trunk of his car for the rest of the night. As a result he also avoided dark, cramped spaces.

"Excuse me. I'm Doctor Wes Abernathy."

The woman turned to him. "Doctor Maggie Collins," she said, smiling.

"Professor Sinclair," the long-haired man firmly shook Doctor Abernathy's hand. He was wearing wire rimmed glasses and Doctor Abernathy couldn't shake eerie feeling that they had met before. Something about his voice...

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but have we met before?"

**L*E*V*E*R*A*G*E**

Eliot stiffened the instant Doctor Abernathy, the real Wes Abernathy, had introduced himself. Other than the fact that he had used the man as a way into art exhibit for a retrieval job several years ago, and occasionally used the name as an alias, no, they had never met before.

_Seriously? _What was were the chances of running into someone who might remotely recognize him?

Maggie glanced curiously between the two men.

"No, I don't believe so."

"Hmm," Doctor Abernathy shook his head. "There was just something really familiar about you."

Luckily for Eliot, Doctor Abernathy's cell phone rang just then and he had to excuse himself to take the call.

"_Eliot. Eliot!"_Nate's voice sounded through the comm.

"What?" Eliot spoke out of the side of his mouth. "Give me a second, I'm hittin' it off here." Of course Nate had less than impeccable timing, but then again it would give him an excuse to escape Doctor Abernathy.

_"Bring her along, it'll help sell the character."_

"I'm actually here for an art deal. Do you mind?" Eliot held out his arm.

Maggie smiled and linked her arm with his. "Of course."


	8. Rip Deal

**Title:** Rip Deal**  
>Author: <strong>Trapper Creek Kaniac  
><strong>Fandom:<strong> Leverage  
><strong>Prompt:<strong> shot  
><strong>Word Count:<strong> ~125

**Summary: **Parker is worried about Nate.

**Author's Note: Many thanks to** GoHead **and** floralisette **for bringing to to my attention that I reposted a chapter - I sincerely apologize, I completely forgot I had posted that one before. I've since replaced it with a new one:**

* * *

><p>"You're not going to get shot again, are you?" Parker asked Nate with a genuine look of concern on her face.<p>

Nate, messing with his tie, stopped and looked up. "What? Why would I get shot?"

"Well," Parker made a shrugging motion, "the last time we ran a Rip Deal, you got shot."

"I'm not going to get shot this time."

"Okay..." Parker still sounded unsure.

"Parker, come on, let's go," Eliot said, pulling his hair back into a low ponytail as he approached. "Sophie's waiting." He paused, adjusting his suit jacket and pulling out a pair of wire rim glasses.

"But..."

"Parker!" Nate exclaimed at the same time Eliot growled.

"Okay, okay!" the thief huffed. "It just seems like Nate gets shot a lot."


	9. The Happily Ever After Job

**Title: **The Happily Ever After Job**  
>Author: <strong>Trapper Creek Kaniac  
><strong>Fandom:<strong> Leverage  
><strong>Word Count:<strong> 376

**Summary: **The team receives something in the mail...

**Author's Note: **Written for a challenge over at leveragland (stole second place!).**  
><strong>

* * *

><p>The brew pub was closed for the day while the team regrouped a little before the next con. Nate was sitting on one of the bar stools watching Eliot and Hardison bicker in the kitchen while Sophie was working out something for her acting class at a nearby table. A little family time, he thought and smiled to himself.<p>

Hardison and Eliot approached, each carrying a glass of beer. Somehow he'd let himself be talked into tasting the latest brew (Hardison swore that this one was much better and that he'd really studied up this time).

"Hey, guys, look what Alice got in the mail today!" Parker skipped in waving a medium size piece of paper around excitedly.

"You're Alice!" they all chorused.

Parker made a face and handed the paper – nice card stock Nate realized – to Sophie because she was the closest. Sophie took it and began to read.

"You are cordially invited to the-"

"Hurley and Peggy are getting married!" Parker interrupted unable to contain her excitement any longer.

"That's so cute," Sophie cooed.

"And she invited us?" Nate asked, ever the skeptic.

Parker nodded, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Well, Alice. The rest of you got invitations, too, even Eliot."

_"Hey, man," Hurley limped toward Eliot. "Thanks for patching up my leg."_

_Before the hitter could react Hurley threw his arms around him and hugged him. Eliot instantly stiffened, his hands curling into fists, and he quickly shoved Hurley away while snarling "Hey – I'll-break your freakin' arm."_

_"Geeze. So angry. Y-"_

"Wait, then how does she know about this place?"

"I sort of told her?" Parker shrugged. "You know, with the whole spy thing. I said if she ever needed to send anything, that this address would make sure we got it."

"Parker..."

"Don't worry, she wouldn't tell anyone."

"This is kinda cool," Hardison said. "Never had that happen before."

"We helped Peggy, and Hurley twice, and now they're getting married... does that mean we stole a family?"

Nate exchanged a little smile with Sophie. "Yeah. Yeah... I think we did."

The moment was broken when Parker suddenly grinned. "Hey, maybe Eliot could cook for the guests!"

"Hell no!" Eliot exclaimed and crossed his arms. "I am not catering another wedding."


End file.
